Photo Credit: Tom Jenz
I wanted to find out if a distressed corridor of the oppressed central city was making progress. I thought Robin Reese could help me. She is the manager of the Fond du Lac and North Avenue Business Improvement District #32. BID #32 maps out on the east from Highway 43 to 27th Street on the west, and from 17th Street on the south to Fond du Lac on the north. These blocks include neighborhoods of mostly Black residents who deal with social and economic issues, crime and reckless driving.
I met Reese at Columbia Savings and Loan on North and Fond du Lac. It’s the only Black-owned financial institution in the state and the location of her BID #32 office. From there, we began a walk and talk tour of her district, heading east on North Avenue toward Interstate 43. She admitted that her district has issues of criminal activity and crumbling infrastructure, but she wanted to show me the progress she has made in her two and a half years as head of BID 32. Through her warm personality and spontaneous sense of humor, I felt like a long-lost friend. In her spare time, Reese is an R&B singer, and her voice is easy on the ear.
Are you a native of Milwaukee?
I grew up in the general area of where we are now, and I consider this my community, my neighborhood. I was raised in the Brewer’s Hill section. My grandparents came from Texas and Oklahoma. My grandfather was a vet and my grandmother an RN at the VA Hospital. I went to Rufus King High School, UW-Milwaukee for undergrad and Cardinal Stritch University for my MBA. Along the way, I raised two sons, now 22 and 14.
There are a number of vacant buildings and houses along this corridor. What are the biggest challenges you face in your improvement efforts?
I try to attract businesses and developers and then match them with tenants. Not all these vacant spaces are city owned. Some of the buildings are privately owned but not owner-occupied.
As we walked east on North Avenue, she pointed out the new Mobil Lube Express business which was attached to a long low building recently renovated but still lacking tenants.
Reese: The goal for that space is that if the oil change business is successful, then the owner can add tenants. Through our partner, Brew City Match, we try to connect property and business owners with financial institutions that might provide a low interest or no interest loan.
We stopped in front of the The Cobras building, now vacant. At one time, this was the home to the Milwaukee branch of the historic Chicago Cobras, a gang of criminals dealing drugs in the Midwest a generation ago. I mentioned that in the eight years since I’ve been walking this block, the Cobras building has been vacant.
Reese: Here is the problem. It would be nice to see this old building occupied, but it is privately owned, and we are limited as to what we can do. As long as the owners pay taxes and keep the outside clean, they have no obligation to do anything more. At least, it has a For Sale sign. But I do try to keep track of all city-owned buildings and help to get them renovated or occupied.
We arrived at an abandoned house, a side-by-side duplex, the porch swaybacked, windows boarded. Vacant homes are a major issue in the central city.
Reese: Unoccupied houses create social problems. As for this one, I don’t know if it’s privately owned or the city took it over. The city owns a lot more properties than they probably should. If the residents stop paying taxes, the city takes over the properties.
There is a city of Milwaukee website that shows hundreds of buildings and houses for sale, all owned by the city.
And that may not be all of them. Those are just the ones that got the chance to appear on the listings.
With all these vacant city-owned properties, why can’t the city building committee just give some of these houses and buildings to needy families and community organizers?
Reese: It’s not that easy. If they give a building away, will the recipient be able to do the build-out, the construction, get it up to code, pay the taxes. and then maintain the property? That takes money.
We moved on east down North Avenue, each block looking more inviting. The historic Galst Food Market had been renovated, and there were newly rehabbed buildings including the Social Development Commission and its welcoming windows, the Walnut Way Development Commission, and the Wellness Commons office building. Perhaps a healing process had begun. I noticed that a landmark, Jake’s Deli, was still open for business.
A couple years ago, I was shooting pictures of Jake’s Deli. An older man comes out the door, a white man. I said, “What are you doing here? I thought I was the only white man around here.” He said, “I’m the last Jew left in the neighborhood.”
This neighborhood has changed a lot from when there used to be a variety of ethnic families. A big supporter for my BID #32 district has been the Zilber Family Foundation. Milwaukee real estate businessman and philanthropist, Joe Zilber, was white, and he grew up around here, Lindsay Heights. His plan was for some of the foundation money to be used to keep this area thriving. My district received a grant two years ago, and I just applied for another one.
We stopped at the newly restored Legacy Building four stories high and covering a city block. The lower floor was for corporate offices, and the upper three floors comprise the Legacy Lofts that include market-rate and affordable living units. All units are now occupied. Robin led me down the residential 17th Street which bloomed as an oasis lined with beautifully restored two-story colonial houses with old fashioned porches and owner-occupied with Black families. Halfway down the block, we arrived at a lovely old house surrounded by gardens.
Reese: This is the home of Walnut Way Center, a non-profit community organization. Sharon Adams and her husband Larry were the founders, and they live on this street. They are big advocates for our community. Larry is a contractor, and together they’ve added new restorations along the North Avenue corridor including Wellness Commons and Adams Garden Park. I believe that citizens of our neighborhoods have a lot of power if we can get together and do what’s happened here on 17th Street. We have to unite and get elected officials to listen to us.
I commented on a number of sidewalk planters and property gardens blooming with colorful flowers. We stopped in front of a property converted into a garden. The sign read, Hoop House, Eco Tour.
Reese: Those signs are everywhere. We have rain gardens, hoop houses, soil growths, and fruit orchards. You can go on a self-guided tour and see these sights. These are hidden gems in this area. Lindsay Heights is Milwaukee’s first eco-neighborhood.
Then, walking on and just around the corner on Lloyd, the atmosphere switched on dim. We came upon a dilapidated one-story building, walls smeared with graffiti, probably vacant but at one time a child Daycare center. Rounding the corner to Fond du Lac, a shuttered restaurant announced, “Fish Fry Friday” and “Soul Food Sunday.” Reese indicated there were new owners and the restaurant would open soon. Walking up Fond du Lac Avenue buzzing with cars, we found more flower planters.
Reese: We employ Blue Skies Landscaping to beautify blocks and neighborhoods throughout all seasons. Amidst all the chaos, we are trying to welcome visitors and residents.
Noisy cars were hurrying past, some shouting out of boom boxes, some exceeding the speed limit.
Reese: This is one of our neighborhood problems, reckless driving. If you drive our streets, we don’t want you to deal with bad drivers and accidents. We want to welcome you. The city needs to get this problem under control.
As we finished our walk up Fond du Lac, the atmosphere turned downcast as we encountered a stretch of vacant buildings and empty lots.
Reese: My goal on this block is to have one major development to absorb these lots and buildings. This all takes patience and persistence.
If you could sum up you job in a few sentences, how would you do that?
To find businesses for the vacant commercial buildings and to attract developers to purchase sites. I deal with safety and security, traffic, infrastructure and beautification. I talk with developers and help them choose possible sites. I sell my neighborhoods. I’m a big champion of Business Improvement District #32.
